CEA Says Outlook Positive for Holiday Tech Spending

As the holiday season spending season kicks into full gear, the Consumer Electronics Association says that consumer inclination to buy tech products hit its highest November level since 2009, according to a release.

According to the trade group’s Index of Consumer Technology Expectations, consumer confidence toward technology spending rose 2.7 points to 92.9, which bodes well, but “is challenging other popular product categories,” said CEA chief economist and senior research director Shawn DuBravac.

According to a CEA Pre-Black Friday Survey, 31% of consumers planned to buy electronics over the Thanksgiving weekend, with most expecting to buy a tablet (30%), followed by laptops (29%), video game consoles (29%) and TVs (22%). Early results from Thanksgiving sales reports indicated that there were larger crowds shopping but that sales were flat, year-over-year.

Meanwhile, the CEA Index of Consumer Expectations , which measures consumer expectations about the broader economy, increased 4.7 points in November to reach 168.4, the highest level in two years for this period.

“Consumers are feeling decidedly more optimistic about the economy,” said DuBravac. “The equity markets continue to rally following resolution of the government shutdown. Gasoline prices have trended down which is giving consumers more room to shop as we head into the holiday shopping season. All of these factors bode well for holiday sales.”

He added that CEA is sticking to its original October forecast of 4% growth for total holiday retail sales this season.